61: Steppin' on Rakes

Today we discussed the mugs being shipped out, the story on the tragedy of Aaron Swartz, the best of CES, Apple cuts iPhone 5 orders in half, Samsung's new curved smartphone concept, America's fist book-less library, and Beijing's air pollution is off the charts.

Aaron Swartz, Internet Activist, Dies at 26 - NYTimes.comAaron Swartz, a wizardly programmer who as a teenager helped develop code that delivered ever-changing Web content to users and who later became a steadfast crusader to make that information freely available, was found dead on Friday in his New York apartment.

The Verge Awards: the best of CES 2013 | The VergeSo there was good stuff. No, great stuff. And we think that stuff deserves to be rewarded (or at least called out) for being what it is: the best of the best. We present that list to you, unedited and uncut, for your reading pleasure, without interruption.

Apple Cuts Orders for iPhone Parts - WSJ.comApple Inc. has cut its orders for components for the iPhone 5 due to weaker-than-expected demand, people familiar with the situation said Monday.
Apple's orders for iPhone 5 screens for the January-March quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had previously planned to order, two of the people said.

America's first bookless public library will look 'like an Apple Store' | The VergeBexar County, Texas says that it will open the first 100 percent digital public library system in the country, unveiling plans for its first location this past week. The plan has been in the works for a while, headed up by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who says he was inspired to create a digitally native library while reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs.

Smartphones outpacing tablets in data consumption | ZDNetThe study released Monday by Arieso, which specializes in mobile network optimization, found that for the first time, smartphones consistently surpassed tablets in consumption of mobile data. The top three mobile devices that were the "hungriest" data consumers of 2012 were all smartphones--Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, and HTC Sensation XL.

The 3D-Kindio: A New Aid to Help the Blind Get Around | Technology on GOODMost of us take our mobility for granted. But for the 285 million people around the globe with some form of visual impairment—39 million of whom have irreversible blindness—being able to navigate their homes, schools, and workplaces is a constant challenge. That could change, however, thanks to 3D-Kindio, a system that combines the cameras from the Xbox Kinect, 3D sound, and augmented reality software to help blind people identify direction, distance, and places.

The Evolution Of Superman Logos - DesignTAXI.comSimilar to Cathryn Lavery’s poster of Batman logos, Maurice Mitchell of The Geek Twins has created his own poster that traces the evolution of Superman logos—starting from the 1938 ‘Action Comics Series

Beijing Air Pollution Off the Charts - NYTimes.comOne Friday more than two years ago, an air-quality monitoring device atop the United States Embassy in Beijing recorded data so horrifying that someone in the embassy called the level of pollution “Crazy Bad” in an infamous Twitter post. That day the Air Quality Index, which uses standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, had crept above 500, which was supposed to be the top of the scale.

24 Remarkable Packaging Innovations of 2012 « Best In PackagingNestlé thought it wise to introduce a special banana ice cream. That sounds nothing special, except that the product is encased in a gelatine layer that can be peeled as a real banana. This is one of the first industrial examples of the edible skin packaging.